Absolute Zero
by yamijack
Summary: Lauren is on a mission in Russia to bring down the Mafia's main weapons supplier. If that's not hard enough, her relationship with Rat is threatened when Bethany seeks revenge after a disastrous training exercise. Rated M for language and violence
1. Breaking Point

''BETHANY PARKER! MY _MOTHER_ COULD RUN FASTER THAN YOU AND SHE'S DEAD!' James's voice echoed off the high stone walls that the black shirts were running alongside of. Bethany scowled at James, who in turn shot her a confident, cocky look then turned around to face his sister.

''What's wrong Lauren? Is it really that bad having your brother as a boss?'' Lauren shot a sideways glance at James who sported the trademark white shirt of a training instructor. And boy did he have the attitude for it. Grimacing, Lauren decided she would ignore the latest remark about their mother.

''Aww, what's wrong Lauren? Did I make you sad?'' Lauren knew her brother was just trying to get a reaction (as usual) so he could find another way to make use of his authority and have her doing some form of punishment, but that didn't stop her from getting angry. Every time. The words 'Shut up asshole' could've probably been heard from a mile away as Lauren turned to give James the most vicious look she could despite sweating and panting from a long early-morning run. Even though her best friend, Bethany, was in front of her, Lauren could almost _feel_ her smile.

After another three miles of running, the black shirts had finally made their way up the steep hill that was located thirty minutes away from the Cherub campus.

''Alright everybody. You had better start building your shelters before it starts raining, otherwise you'll fail. Also, if your tent doesn't survive the night, you'll fail as well. Good luck!'' As James walked away, Bethany went over to Lauren, her steps heavy from the morning's exercise.

''Your brother's a _dick, _Lauren. What the hell is his problem?'' Even though Lauren privately agreed with her best friend's statement, it still made her uncomfortable when James was insulted in front of her. Instead, she just said ''Well... Let's just start with that tent, okay?''

It took Bethany and Lauren an hour and a half to finally settle down with their tent. The entire group had been put into pairs and were told to find a suitable space to camp for what promised to be a stormy night. The girls had found a clearing on the other side of the hill where it was flat enough to erect a makeshift tent of some kind. The only problem was that there were no trees to provide natural shelter from the rain which was beginning to fall and, despite Lauren's best attempts to convince Bethany that they needed a sturdier shelter to cope with the strong wind which was whipping leaves across the forest floor; they still ended up with a small, flimsy tri-pod based tent. After another hour of trying (and failing) to make a fire, the girls decided to get some rest.

Lauren looked towards the tent Bethany had insisted on making. It was tiny, and looked like it could fall over any second. Just as Lauren was going to question Bethany's interesting choice in camp for the thousandth time that evening, a familiar voice rang out loudly through the clearing.

''Hey! How's my favourite baby sister and her..._ friend_.'' Lauren always resented the way her brother addressed her best friend. And yet, at the same time, it hardly bothered her.

''What do you want _James_?'' The words left Bethany's mouth as though she was spitting venom. In a way, she was. James rolled his eyes; he had long become immune to Bethany's little tantrums. As he turned his head to taunt Lauren once more, he caught sight of the pair's attempt at a tent.

''What the _heck_ is _that_?'' He said, laughter in his voice as he pointed an accusing finger towards the offensive pile of plastic, leaves and sticks. ''That,'' he continued, ''Will _never_ survive the night. In fact, it's a miracle that it's survived up until now. Whose crap idea was this? Wait. Let me guess. Perhaps it was the self-obsessed, overly confident little...''

''JAMES! I don't care what the_ FUCK_ you think, okay? The tent's _fine_! Piss off!'' By this point, all reason had left Bethany's head, her face going a peculiar shade of red. The type of red you see when children don't get their way.

''Bethany, please. See some reason. Look at that thing. It nearly collapsed when you shouted just then.''

''Go _away_, James.'' Lauren knew the situation could only escalate and would probably leave her having to listen to Bethany bitch about her brother all night, a prospect that Lauren reckoned was less than inviting.

''You know what? Fine. What do I, the_ instructor_, know anyway? I mean, look at that thing! I'd totally feel safe sleeping in that.'' With that, James turned his back to the two girls and kicked out his heel backwards into the flimsy supports. The two girls held their breath as the tent wobbled back and forth for several heart stopping moments. Just as they thought it would be safe, the whole tent shuddered and shook before falling to the ground in a mess of string and twigs.

''Whoops. My bad! Good luck with that, Lauren, Bethabitch.'' After he had nodded in each of their directions in a mockingly polite way, James began to make his way back up the hill, presumably to where he had set up camp. _'A stronger, better camp'_ Lauren thought as she looked over to where her best friend was kneeling on the sodden ground and was just beginning to tidy up the mess that was once their tent.

''What are we going to do, Beth?'' Bethany looked up sharply, and then proceeded to get up and point her finger in Lauren's confused face.

''This is _your_ fault, Adams. You just let your_ bastard_ brother waltz over here, insult me, destroy our shelter then walk away? What's _wrong_ with you, Lauren? I thought we were friends.'' With that, Lauren snapped. She felt her face flush, her chest tighten, and her head go slightly delirious.

''Guess what? James was_ right_. That's why you're so pissed off. We both know that stupid tent wouldn't have been able to fit both of us, let alone survive a fucking storm! What's wrong with you, Bethany? You're supposed to be a Cherub, not a selfish, immature, ignorant...''

Lauren couldn't finish her sentence. She was interrupted by a literal slap in the face. The sharp sound resonated around the two furious girls before Bethany stormed off down the hill, leaving Lauren alone, with a pile of sticks and plastic. The sun had set just before James had come to check on them and without shelter, Lauren would not only be unable to sleep, but she would fail the test too. The rest of Lauren's evening consisted of her trying to build a sturdier tent, despite the rain and darkness.

''GET UP!'' Lauren's eyes shot open as her brother's familiar booming voice shattered her well needed rest. ''I expected more of you two. You were supposed to be up half an hour ago. But since you have such a nice shelter, I'll forgive you. Even you, _Parker_.'' Parker?

''OW!'' Bethany snapped as something that resembled a muddy combat boot kicked her. ''I'm _awake_, James!'' As Lauren turned over, she saw her. The familiar brown mop of messy hair, the tanned skin, the slightly muddy and scratched,_ Bethany_. Lauren leapt up to get a better look at the situation. After about a minute Lauren was filled with rage for the third time that training session. Bethany had come up the hill in the night, and gone into the shelter. _Her_ shelter. She couldn't believe it.

Lauren frowned, an obvious line showed, formed from years of being surrounded by people she had deemed less intelligent than her. "Good morning,_ Bethany_. Did you have a lovely sleep? So, mind telling me what the _FUCK_ you're doing in_ MY_ shelter? Do you have_ any_ idea how much time it took me to make that? While you were off moping somewhere, I was actually _working_. Then you sneak up here like the bitch you are and try to take credit? What's wrong with you?'' Tears ran down Lauren's dirtied face as her best friend started to get up, rubbing her head where James had kicked her. ''If you didn't want me to sleep in it, why did you make it big enough for two people? Or are you trying to tell me that all our years of friendship vanished after that one little argument? We're on a fucking _training_ exercise. I was _exhausted_ and _starving_. You can't blame me for how I acted!'' Lauren blinked, considering this, but something about the way Bethany was trying to keep a straight face gave Lauren the confidence she needed. ''You think you can trick me, Bethany? I know you're good at twisting words. Well, maybe I _don't_ consider you my friend anymore!''


	2. Joy Of Joys

**JOY OF JOYS**

_**CHERUB is a product belonging to the masterful brain of Robert Muchamore. **_

'**Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired'- Yami**

'_Make someone happy today, don't speak to them'- Jack_

The air was tense back at the Cherub campus. Awkward glances were exchanged from one sullen face to another. The only person who seemed to be actually_ enjoying _the atmosphere was James. He was ecstatic. When Lauren told him what happened with her and Bethany, he had nearly woken up the entire block with his shouts. The others, however, were struggling with the break up. Dante had decided that his loyalties were with Lauren and had comforted her when Bethany started rumors about her and when some of her other friends had ignored her. Rat, however, was less supportive.

Finally, Lauren took him aside and started to pour out all her feelings. ''I thought you loved me. I think you _do _love me. But every time I try and talk to you, it's like I'm boring or wrong! I just need you to understand that Bethany was a total bitch to me! So why are you still nice to her? I saw you helping her with homework. Why would you _do_ that Rat?''

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. ''I don't know, Lauren. Maybe because you guys have fought before and then the next day you're best friends and all over each other again. Maybe because I don't think she was cruel to you. Maybe because I _don't care_? I don't want to get involved in this.'' After he had finished, Rat walked away- leaving Lauren, mouth open, to stand there.

''Could Lauren Adams please make her way over to the Mission Control room?'' Lauren looked up from the Russian quiz she had been struggling to complete for the last age of her life. Getting up, she couldn't help but wonder what her mission might be. No matter how many years she spent at Cherub, Lauren always found herself walking a little quicker that usual when going to the mission controls room. She suspected this had more to do with the various punishments that could be handed out than it was too do with excitement about a new mission. But this time, Lauren jolted to a stop. _Bethany_. Her ex-best friend stood in the corridor, chatting happily with Rat._ 'Traitor' _she thought before Rat's brown eyes caught her own.

''Hey, Lauren. You on this mission too?'' How could he be so nonchalant when everyone else around them was so tense? ''You'd better stop scowling, Lauren. You'll ruin that pretty little face of yours.''

''Lay off, Bethany.'' Dante's voice startled Lauren as he came up behind her. Was he on the mission too? Looking at the three familiar faces around her, Lauren quickly came to the conclusion that it was a joke, thought up by James to torment her. Or maybe they had to apologize to each other like the red-shirts did when they were fighting? Either way, she couldn't be going on a mission with..._her._

''Come in.'' Zara sat at the head of a long oak table, holding four identical booklets with the words 'Top Secret' written on each. ''I'm sure you've all figured it out by now, but you're being sent on a mission." There went all of Lauren's theories. "The reason you four have been chosen is due to your ability to work together, and Lauren's ability to speak Russian.''

''Wait. We're going to Russia? But the rest of us can't-''

''I am fully aware of each of your linguistics abilities. The mission is not for another month, and in that time, each of you will undergo rigorous training. If you choose to accept the mission, your schedules will be as so.'' Lauren looked at the piece of paper in front of her. As she did so, her heart sank.

Wake up: 7:00

Breakfast: 7:30

Russian: 8:00-9:30

Fitness: 9:35-10:35

Break: 10:40-11:00

Russian: 11:05-12:05

Lunch: 12:10-12:40

Russian: 12:45-14:00

Fitness: 14:05-16:00

Break: 16:05-16:30

Russian: 16:35-17:35

Homework and free time: 17:40-17:00

Dinner: 17:05-17:40

Russian: 17:45-18:30

Homework and free time: 18:30-22:25

Sleep: 22:30

Five and a half hours of Russian per _day_? ''Now, I know all this may sound like a lot of hard work...''

''So you're saying it's not? That's good. For a minute I thought you were trying to work us like slaves. I guess that's not the case then. What a relief.'' Rat was sitting in his usual slack position, legs crossed and eyes closed as he tipped his chair back and forth.

''Very funny, Gregory Rathbone.'' Lauren couldn't help but smile when she saw him twitch with annoyance with his full name. ''Anyway'' Zara continued, ''You may think that there must be other Cherubs more suited to this mission, but the friendship between you all will be vital when you're dealing with sub-zero temperatures and the Russian Mafia.''

''_Russian_ Mafia?''

''If I could ask you all to read the summary...''

_March 17th 1992_

_Martin Slatkin travels from Kotlas to Vorkuta carrying dangerous Class-A drugs and artillery. Over the last decade Slatkin had earned over 485,000,000 Russian Rubles by supplying guns, bombs and other weapons to the Russian Mafia. On that particular Tuesday, a meeting scheduled in Yakutsk was to be held by the most important people in the Mafia to discuss allies and enemies. Albert Belova, a 54-year-old sailor, was deemed a spy, and murdered during the meeting. Slatkin would find Belova's family and recruit his eldest son, Iakov, who was later reported missing after a drugs scandal. If any information on Iakov can be obtained, call Mission Controls immediately. _

_By using the desperation of the financially stricken Russian people, this particular group in the Russian Mafia had expanded from the four men who had started it all to hundreds. Over the next two decades, more than 1000 men, women and children were killed in events directly or indirectly organized by Slatkin. Today, he lives in a large estate with his third wife and his five children. _

_Lauren Adams and Dante Welsh will enter the local school as half Russian, half English siblings, names Eva and Isaak respectively. Bethany Parker and Gregory Rathbone will join a school slightly further away to gain access to the other Slatkin siblings. They will go by the names Alisa and Maxim, who will also be half-Russian, half-American. Bethany Parker will act as Lauren and Dante's half-sister, along with Gregory Rathbone, who shares a similar skin and hair color. Dante Welsh will be Lauren Adams brother. Elizabeth Donald, an FBI agent, will act as the four agents' mother, Larisa. She will be Rat and Bethany's real mother after Lauren and Dante's pretty English mother passed away a decade before._

_Lauren's job is to become Milena's best friend while Bethany will try and become 16 year old Vadik's girlfriend while the two boys must befriend 15 year old twins Feodor, Nina and their older sister Roza,17. It must be taken note that all children come from the second wife, and so do not have a very good relationship with their 29 year old stepmother, Evgeniya. Yosyp Kazakov, who will be known as Rurik Gordieva, will try and secure Martins trust and will initiate trade between his gang and Teds 'gang' back in England. Slatkin will be keen to broaden his business, but will also be very suspicious so necessary cautions must be undergone. It is essential that all four agents are fully fluent in Russian, as they will have to deal with the new culture and be fully alert to any information that may be available. All agents are advised to avoid drugs and alcohol for safety reasons. Any agent caught taking Class-A drugs will be kicked out of Cherub. _

"This doesn't make any sense."

"Of course it doesn't, Rat." Bethany said with a smirk. Zara turned to the moody teenager with a sigh and reluctantly asked him to explain whatever problem he may have with the briefing. "It says here that Dante and I have to be friends with the twins but we're going to go to different schools, you know? How's that going to work?"

"Nina doesn't go to school with her brother. She and Milena go to the local school while Feodor, Vadik and Roza go to the one out of town. We think this may be because Roza is pretty, so she can sweet-talk other dealers. The boys are going to inherit their father's business, so they must get used to the violence. We also did a background check on the area around your future school,"

Zara waved a lazy hand in Rat's general direction as she dug around in a drawer. After a couple of awkwardly silent seconds, she placed a file of photos on the table and passed them across. "About two hundred yards down from the school is a bar where people who are interested in either buying or selling drugs go to do business. The three siblings are often seen going in, and are treated like regulars. Rat, I want you to try and get a job there, as anything. It doesn't matter, as long as they trust you enough to allow you to wander around the place; but be careful. An undercover FBI agent was murdered after he started acting a little too inquisitive."

"With all due respect, I doubt the FBI agent had the training and skills _I _have." Lauren was skimming over the details of the mission again when she realized Milena's age had not been included. "She's fourteen." Zara answered. She was put up a couple of years due to her outstanding work and achievements. She gets bullied sometimes, so Lauren, I want you to make friends with her, and try to stop the bullying. I feel as if that is the best way to try and gain her trust."

"Why doesn't Dante do it, seeing that he's the guy?" Lauren shot a stern look at Bethany, who had her arm too close to Rat's leg for Lauren to be comfortable.

"Milena has a fear of men. She inherited her late mother's beauty but lacks Roza's confidence and fighting skills. When she was very young, a rival gang kidnapped her for a ransom. We don't have the details, but I'm sure you can all guess what happened." A shiver went down Lauren's spine as she thought what Milena had to go through when she was still so young.

"If everyone accepts the mission, the training will start immediately." Lauren looked around the room. She didn't have any technical reasons for refusing the mission, but a part of her was screaming that this was a bad idea. Especially since Bethany and Rat would be together most of the time.

"I'll do it." Lauren looked over at Rat, who was resting his head on his arms.

"Me too", Bethany added, smiling at Rat. Lauren winced slightly at the obvious flirting, but at least Rat didn't look like he was responding.

"I'll go" Lauren and Dante said, in perfect unison. The two of them looked at each other and began to laugh. "Perfect!" Zara replied, "And, if you go now, it looks like you'll all be in time for a Russian lesson."

"Joy of joys."


	3. Busted

**Busted**

**Yami: I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes. **

_Jack: Two things are infinite – the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about infinity. (Albert Einstein)_

**NB: Добрый день means "Good Afternoon" in Russian.**

"What's been up with you lately?" Rat was standing by his desk, sorting through the mess to try and find his misplaced Russian homework when Bethany, who was sitting on his bed, asked her question. She looked up at him, her over-done make-up shimmering in the sunlight.

"Nothing's up. I'm just tired. Miss Kautsky's given us way too much Russian. I've been staying up until like midnight…" Bethany stood and walked over to the desk and began staring at Rat's face. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm _bored_."

"Haven't you made up with Lauren yet?" Bethany pulled a face. "Why should I bother? She _completely_ overreacted. I mean, we were best friends and then all of a sudden she and her shitface brother are allies against me. And you know how these things are, we always row and stuff."

"Fascinating. Please _do_ go on."

"And then she starts yelling at me for no good reason. Then she hates me. Then of course Dante has to hate me as well, and I _know_ it's because she bitc-"

"For the love of God, shut the fuck up. _Please_. That was _sarcasm. _For the love of my sanity, stop this profanity." Bethany had no idea whether to laugh or to cry. Did Rat just... rhyme? The teenage boy turned towards the obviously confused girl and told her to piss off before turning back to his desk. Bethany drew in a long breath before walking away. Rat jumped at the sound of his door being slammed shut.

"Women."

Bethany stormed down the hallways towards Dante's room. If she couldn't work her charm on Rat, then Dante was her only other option. She knocked on the door while trying to calm herself down. As she heard footsteps, Bethany went into her automatic 'flirt' mode, equipped with a huge, flashing smile, which was usually saved for older, hotter guys.

"Hi Dante!"

_Slam_. Bethany stood motionless, staring at the door that had recently re-entered her view. "Assholes!" she hissed under her breath as she checked her watch. Seeing as though there was only twenty minutes left of her dinner break, Bethany headed to the canteen. She sat with a bunch of Lauren's friends and quickly regained her confidence chatting among them. A couple of minutes later, Rat set his tray down beside her, much to the shock of Lauren, who was sitting with Dante and her brother's friends.

"Добрый день! Now, let us start ze lesson."

"Yay." Rat muttered under his breath. The room was poorly lit, small and had four desks facing an old-fashioned chalkboard. The walls and ceiling were painted a muddy green and the carpet looks as though it had been white once, when time began. The four CHERUBs were tested every second day on hundreds of Russian words, and grammar. After the tedious class, Lauren went to the back of the building to the drinks' dispensers. When she was out of sight, Dante confronted Rat.

"Look, I don't know what the _hell_ is going through your thick skull but you're being an arsehole." Rat, who was slightly shorter than Dante, turned around and looked into the redhead's eyes.

"I'll have you _know_, I'm a genius with an IQ of 196. So, I'm _not _stupid, thanks. And I don't want YOU" Rat prodded his finger into Dante's chest as he spat out his last attack, "to tell _me_ how to treat _my_ girlfriend." Bethany stood alone at the side of the argument until the other few CHERUBs who were walking the corridors began to take notice. There was a full minute of silence where Dante merely stared at Rat, and the other way round.

"Is that all you had to say to me you ginger prick?" Dante snapped. He curled his fist into a right ball and threw his anger filled punch.

"HOW ABOUT THIS YOU AUSSIE BASTARD!" Rat didn't have time to fully dodge the assault, and he crashed into the lockers behind him with a metallic thud. Immediately, the observers from the other end of the hall rushed forwards to see what was going to happen next. Meanwhile, Bethany slipped away towards the drink dispensers. She met Lauren, who was carrying two diet cokes, near the math's classrooms. "Looks like your boyfriend can't control his anger issues."

"You mean Rat?"

"No. Dante." Lauren froze instantly. _'Shit.'_ She thought. _'Shit!' _Still holding the cokes, she sprinted back to the Languages Department, just in time to see Rat kick Dante in the stomach with a powerful karate move.

"Stop! _STOP!_" Lauren dropped her drinks and pushed aside the twenty-strong crowd in her attempts to reach the fight. Finally, she stood facing the two; who were both in boxing positions, their bodies low to the ground with their fists bunched up near their chests. In the same instant they both leapt up towards each other. Lauren knew she could only stop either her best friend or her boyfriend from getting hurt. Lauren quickly stepped forward and rammed into Dante, whose fist flew through air and hit nothing. Rat's attack still connected with Dante's arm and his yells alerted James, who was getting suspicious at the level of noise emanating from the usually quiet part of the building. As he started walking towards the noise, Dante stood up, shocked.

"I'm so sorry Dante! But Rat's still my boyfriend you know?"

"You're an _idiot!"_

"Well done for stating the bloody obvious, Dante." Rat stated, running his hand through his messy hair as he gave his girlfriend an unusually hostile look. Lauren couldn't believe it. She helped him and now he's insulting her? After being a dick for the last month? Lauren drew in a frantic breath as she lunged at Rat.

"JUST _DIE _WHY DON'T YOU? I _HATE_ YOU! FUCKING PRICK!" Tears stained her flushed face, her movements frantic, her breath erratic, her thoughts paused. "Leave this dickhead to me." Dante said, putting a firm hand on Lauren's shaking shoulder. He threw himself at Rat, who was smiling; laughing at them. He tried to dodge the manic punch, but Dante quickly changed position and tripped his opposition up. Lauren stepped forward and kneed Rat in the face as he fell towards her feet. As he fell to the floor, bloodied, James' loud shout boomed out over the crowd. "WHAT THE _FUCK _IS GOING ON?"


	4. Spark

**Spark**

_**All credit goes to Robert Muchamore, who not only invented CHERUB, but invented whatever else he invented. **_

**Yami: Life is sexually transmitted.**

_Jack: Better mad with the rest of the world than wise alone (Baltasar Gracian)_

Zara was absolutely furious. She sat the three CHERUBs down in front of her with Bethany and James standing to the side of her desk. The Chairwoman sighed and raised her hands in frustration.

"It hasn't even been a month. What on _earth _could have been so important?" Dante opened his mouth to explain but Zara wasn't in the mood. "I've asked these two all about what happened." She pointed at Bethany and James. Lauren's heart sank as Zara carried on ranting. If Bethany had been asked, then there wasn't much hope left.

"You can't keep fighting over stupid things, especially when you're in Russia. You'll both write an apology to Rat and you'll do ditch duty for a fortnight."

"That's not fair!"

"I don't want to hear it Dante! Get out. You can start now." The five Cherubs promptly left the office silently. But the quiet didn't last.

"Why the fuck did we get punished instead of you?" Dante hissed at Rat, who merely shrugged. Lauren was incandescent with rage at this point and lashed out at Dante.

"Because _you_ started fighting!" Dante laughed sarcastically as he said, "So this is _my _fault."

"Well, I didn't do anything, so yeah. It is _Dante._" James stepped in between with a deep frown plastered over his forehead. "Look, there's no point in arguing, since the _two _of you areat fault. I saw you _both _fighting this" he pointed at Rat, "and that's _all _I saw." With that the white shirt strode away in the general direction of 17-year-old Kerry's room. When he was out of sight, Bethany spoke up. "It's a shame you know. But I guess that's what happens when you have to work with amateurs."

"Just go to hell!" Lauren spat.

"Oh, you _will._" With one last death glare Bethany walked past Dante and Lauren, with Rat close behind. "Never knew you could be such a bitch." Lauren bit her lip. She couldn't move. If she did, she'd probably just freak out again. Dante saw her go red and tears form in her grey-blue eyes. He put his arm around her and tried to comfort her, but he had made the mistake of misreading her emotions.

"I'm _not_ fucking upset!" Lauren yelled as she threw a forceful shove at Dante before storming off. It shouldn't have hurt too much, but Lauren had accidentally hit him in the exact same place Rat had when they were fighting. He gripped his arm and cursed under his breath as he promptly made his way to the nurse's office.

It had been more than a week since the argument and things had not gotten any better. Rat and Bethany were starting to look like they were good friends and Lauren still hated the universe and all its inhabitants; not the mention objects. She woke up late and proceeded to produce a string of obscenities directed at her alarm clock that would have made Gordon Ramsey proud. The rest of her morning consisted of her skipping breakfast, failing a Russian test, walking into a door and stubbing her toe. She considered thinking that her day couldn't get any worse, but really that was just tempting fate, and Lauren didn't have the best relationship with luck at the moment.

Dante had made the conscious effort to stay out of Lauren's way after she lashed out at a punching bag and kicked it out of the ceiling. They had been working silently in the ditches from six thirty to ten in the evening, which put a huge strain on Dante's injury meaning that it wasn't healing properly. He had just finished getting into his mud-crusted jeans and stained t-shirt and was jogging across the hall to the other side of the building. He crossed the large playing fields and came to the other side of CHERUB Campus. There were huge concrete walls shadowing the soggy ground where Lauren was already in the meter deep ditch. She carried on shoveling at the filth when Dante jumped in with a sickening squelch.

"You're late."

"Sorry."

Silence returned to the pit as the shouts and cheering of the other CHERUBs playing sports echoed through the humid but cold air. Dante looked towards the girl opposite him. They had been ignoring each other for ages over hardly anything, and he was sick of it

"Look, sorry. I was a dick, you know? I didn't mean to drag you into this, I swear." He paused. "Can we stop fighting and start talking again?" Lauren stopped hacking at a stubborn piece of earth like it had personally insulted her and turned to face her scruffy looking friend.

"Sure." She said, beaming.

The two of them worked for another hour and a half before the light drizzle that they had been complaining about turned into a fully-fledged storm. As the first golden streak severed the sinister in two, the Cherubs decided to make a break for it. Lauren was fairly nimble and jumped out of the ditch without too much difficulty. For Dante and his injury, this was a harder process. The already wet ground had turned to the mud equivalent of quicksand as he struggled to pull himself out. Lauren noticed his face scrunch up in pain every time he used his right arm, so she bent down to help him as she asked what was wrong.

"Nothing." Dante yelled over the wind. "There's a shed-thing about 100 meters from here. It should be open. We can't go under one of those." He pointed towards a tall tree as he stood up after finally hauling himself up. They began running across the marshy land towards the shadowy hut in the distance. The groaning sound of thunder shook Lauren as adrenaline jolted through her entire body.

They reached the shed and quickly went inside. The interior was about as glamorous as the ditch. Rusted tools hung beside various size of insect infested rope, which had been secured to the wall with large hooks. The huge steel framed window gave a view of the rainy scenery, obscured by layers of silvery-grey spiders' webs. Water was filtering through the many holes in the ceiling so Lauren and Dante huddled against the wall facing the window. Their hot frantic breath rose in the freezing air as they talked.

"Why were you making that face earlier?"

Dante looked over at Lauren who was fiddling with a broken piece of pottery.

"It's nothing really. Just a sprain or something."

"How did you get it?" Dante paused awkwardly. "Is it my fault?"

Lauren looked towards him guiltily as she carried on explaining. "Because I pushed you out of the way when you and Rat were fighting. He hit you on the arm didn't he?"

Dante nodded. "And when I pushed you outside Zara's office..." _'She remembered that?' _Lauren sighed. Lauren leant over and rested her forehead against his right shoulder. "I'm really sorry." _'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Calm yourself Dante. Fuuuck! Why's she acting so cute? Ignore it. Good. Nothing's happening. She's just your friend. Just my friend.' _Dante listened to his heartbeat over the lashing rain and wind. _'Fuck.' _He thought. _'I like her.' _Dante had his arm resting on the floor next to Lauren and his body turned to lead as he tried to talk himself into putting it around her.

Lauren sat in silence for another couple of minutes with Dante, who was completely rigid at this point. Just as Lauren was about to speak, a huge erratic spark flew across the sky with an immense resonance. Dante seized his opportunity. He leant over, placed his left hand on Lauren's cheek; turning her head, and kissed her. Despite it being a light, cautious kiss, it still rendered Lauren unable to think. Suddenly, she pulled away.

"I have a boyfriend." She said feebly, as though she was trying to convince herself. "Yeah, but he's an _arsehole!_" "He's my boyfriend." She repeated, staring at the ground. "But..."

"I'm sorry!" Lauren made for the door and ran across the deserted expanse. She passed the ditches, then the recently abandoned playing fields, and finally the sports hall and fountain. Lauren kicked open the double doors in front of her and rammed her back into the lockers. She couldn't think at all. After a few minutes of mental torture, Lauren sat down and wrapped her arms around her shaking body. "I'm just cold." She told herself as tears streaked down her muddy cheeks.

"Just cold. Cold. That's all."

"_Lauren?_" Bethany stood at the far end of the corridor holding a Russian textbook and looking very confused. She walked over to Lauren and sat down beside her, putting a warm arm around trembling shoulders.

"I know that we've been fighting but I'm still your friend, ok? What's wrong?" After a pause Bethany added, "You can trust me." Lauren nodded then proceeded to pour out every detail of what had happened to her that evening. The ditch, the thunder, the shed, Dante's injury, the lightning, the kiss. _Her_ kiss. She wouldn't ordinarily, but the stress of the last two weeks had got to her.

Bethany rubbed Lauren's back and gave her sympathetic looks before smiling and saying. "Let's get you back to your room. We don't want you getting a cold." The two girls headed towards Lauren's room on the sixth floor and when they got out of the lift, Lauren turned to Bethany and explained that she was fine and could walk to her room on her own. "Are you sure? Do you want me to stay with you? I don't mind, really."

"It's ok Bethany, but thanks."

"Anytime."

As Lauren walked away, Bethany pressed the seventh floor button and headed across the hallway. Rat was still up working on his Russian essay when he heard the knock on his door.

"Piss off Bethany. You can't copy my stuff."

"It's not about that." She said with a smirk.

"I don't wanna know."

"Trust me, you'll want to hear _this_."


End file.
